Engineering Commons^™

Internal Or External Knowledge: Which Is More Important For The Performance Of National Laboratories In Technology Latecomer Countries?, Pattravadee Ploykitikoon, Charles M. Weber

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The national laboratories in countries that are latecomers to advanced technological development are considered a significant source of scientific knowledge and technology for local industries that the national government deems strategic and for developing the country’s infrastructure. This knowledge comes from both inside and outside the national laboratories. We investigate the relative impact of internal and external sources of knowledge on the performance of the national laboratories of a rapidly developing country, whose stated missions are 1) satisfying the needs of targeted local technology users; 2) commercialization of technology; and 3) developing a long-term R&D capability for the country. We …

The Time Has Come For Nursing Engineering, William "Ike" Eisenhauer

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article discusses the need for healthcare and educational organizations to create nursing engineering program. Topics discussed include successes in healthcare systems as engineers and healthcare professionals, integration of industrial engineering or lean and Six Sigma courses into nursing programs of the University of Alabama and modern healthcare system and modern healthcare participants that can be addressed by the new profession.

Investigation Of Slective Laser Melting Of Mecanically Alloyed Metastable Al5fe2 Powder, Hugo Montiel

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Selective Laser Melting (SLM), an Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology, enables the production of complex structured metal products. Aluminum alloys are used in SLM as high-strength lightweight materials for weight reduction in structural components. Previous investigations report high laser powers (300 W) and slow scanning speeds (500 mm/s) to process aluminum alloys under SLM. This research investigates the SLM processing of Al-Fe alloy by utilizing metastable Al5Fe2 powder system produced by mechanical alloying. Metastable systems are thermodynamically activated with internal energy that can generate an energy shortcut when processing under SLM. The optimum laser power, scan speeds and scan distances were …

Similarity Analysis Of A Swirling Counter-Flow, Jitesh Rane

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Swirling counter-flows are used in numerous engineering applications, like combustion, heat exchangers, cyclonic separation and mixing, etc. These swirling counter-flows produce complex flow fields. It is important to study these types of flows in order to use them properly in many applications.

The present work provides insight into the flowfield inside a swirling counter-flow when the fluid is injected tangentially in a cylindrical container. A semi-analytical solution is developed by starting with the full Navier-Stokes equation and using a similarity analysis. A decaying swirl along the axis of the cylinder is assumed, which reduces the Navier-Stokes equations to first order …

Design Of A Non-Contact Home Monitoring System For Audio Detection Of Infant Apnea, Daniel T. White

Master's Theses

Infant apnea is a widespread condition in which infants fail to effectively breathe, and can lead to death. Clinical solutions exist for continuous monitoring of respirations in a hospital setting and requiring constant skin contact. This thesis investigates the construction of a proof of concept device that performs in-home monitoring without skin contact and with commonly available off-the-shelf components.

The device constructed used a directional microphone to detect breathing sounds, an omnidirectional microphone to detect ambient noise as a baseline to help isolate the breathing sounds, and LabVIEW software deployed on an inexpensive laptop computer to quantify incidents of apparent …

A Concept Validation Of A Magnetometry-Based Technology For Detecting Concealed Weapons In Vehicle Door Panels, Nar Vang

Master's Theses

Acts of insurgency have become an increasing threat resulting in extensive measures being taken by the law enforcement authorities to mitigate their devastating effects on human life and infrastructure. This thesis introduces a magnetometry-based information, and signal processing methodology for detecting concealed ferrous objects in vehicle body panels. From extensive literature research, it was observed that while magnetic sensors have been used in a variety of related applications, but they have not been extensively applied to the on-road detection of firearms and explosives concealed in vehicles. This study utilized an extensive experimental protocol for preliminary concept validation. The main idea …

Measurement Of Older And Younger Drivers' Selected Seat Position Within Their Personal Vehicles To Influence Recommended Practices For Meeting Safety Needs Of Drivers, Shayne Kelly Mcconomy

All Dissertations

The objective of this research was to measure and understand the preferred seat position and posture of older drivers and younger drivers within their personal vehicles to influence recommended practices for meeting the safety needs of all drivers.Currently, the United States is experiencing an ageing population, whereby in 2020 nearly 40 million people over the age of 65 will be licensed drivers. In addition, crash reports show that older drivers are over represented in vehicle fatality statistics, once adjusted for vehicle miles traveled. The increased fatality rate of older drivers has been attributed to a combination of increased fragility of …

Accuracy, Efficiency, And Parallelism In Network Target Coordination Optimization, Meng Xu

All Dissertations

The optimal design task of complex engineering systems requires knowledge in various domains. It is thus often split into smaller parts and assigned to different design teams with specialized backgrounds. Decomposition based optimization is a multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) technique that models and improves this process by partitioning the whole design optimization task into many manageable sub-problems. These sub-problems can be treated separately and a coordination strategy is employed to coordinate their couplings and drive their individual solutions to a consistent overall optimum. Many methods have been proposed in the literature, applying mathematical theories in nonlinear programming to decomposition based …

Agricultural Water Management In The Sevier River Basin, Utah: A Multidisciplinary Approach, Daeha Kim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Sevier River Basin situated in south central Utah is characterized by its semiarid climate, snowmelt-driven runoff, and high dependency on agricultural economy. High evapotranspiration and low precipitation make agricultural production challenging, but naturally stored water in the snowpack in the mountains alleviates water stresses during high water demand seasons. The snowmelt-driven river flow along the main channel is highly exploited for irrigation for farms near the Sevier River. Reservoir operations and river diversions result in heavily regulated flows from the upper to the lower basins. The return flows of over-irrigated water in the upper basin increase salinity of surface …

Characterization And Performance Of Algal Biofilms For Wastewater Treatment And Industrial Applications, Maureen Kesaano

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was carried out on algal biofilms grown using rotating algal biofilm reactors (RABRs) with the aim of: i) characterizing their growth in terms of photosynthetic activity and morphology ii) evaluating their performance as a wastewater treatment option and a feedstock for biofuels production, and iii) examining the algal-bacteria interactions.

A review of algal biofilm technologies currently employed in wastewater treatment processes was made to compare nutrient removal efficiencies, factors that influenced algal biofilm growth, and the different bioproducts generated from algal biomass. Consequently, research efforts were directed towards addressing pertinent issues identified in literature in order to optimize …

The Effects Of Interactive Computer Simulation And Animation On Student Learning Of Rigid Body Dynamics: A Mixed Method Study, Oai Ha

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Engineering Dynamics (ED) courses are known as challenging and demanding for undergraduate students majored in many engineering fields, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering and civil and environmental engineering. The course is built upon the foundation and framework of mathematics and physics and requires students to have strong abstract thinking and reasoning skills. Rigid body dynamics (RBD), the second part of ED, investigates kinematics and kinetics of rigid bodies and is considered as a difficult subject by many undergraduate students because the course requires them to visualize abstract objects in motions. Although there have been many studies reporting the uses …

A Sensorless Haptic Interface For Robotic Minimally Invasive Surgery, Baoliang Zhao

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Robotic minimally invasive surgery (R-MIS) has gained in popularity due to its advantages of improving the accuracy and dexterity of surgical interventions while minimizing trauma to the patient. However, because of the loss of direct contact with the surgical site, the surgeon cannot perceive tactile information, which may adversely affect surgical efficiency and/or efficacy. The lack of haptic feedback is regarded as a limiting factor in existing R-MIS technology.

To solve this problem, researchers have incorporated force sensors on the surgical tools to measure the tool-tissue interaction forces, and reproduce these forces at the surgeon console. However, the employment of …

Designing A Minimal-Knowledge Controller To Achieve Fast, Stable Growth For Recombinant Escherichia Coli Cultures, Matthew E. Pepper

All Dissertations

The biopharmaceutical industry is constantly developing new recombinant Es-cherichia coli strains to bring new products to market. In early stages of development, small scale bioreactors are used to make the product and explore di˙erent growth pro-tocols. Researchers spend significant time finding a feed rate profile that will give fast growth and low byproduct accumulation. The objective for the controller pre-sented in this work is to achieve fast growth and low acetate accumulation for an E.coli fermentation. The controller does not rely on previous characterization data or models but on fundamental metabolic relationships between oxygen and glucose as dictated by the …

Mobile Cloud Computing Based Non Rigid Registration For Image Guided Surgery, Arun Brahmavar Vishwanatha

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

In this thesis we present the design and implementation of a Mobile Cloud computing platform for non-rigid registration required in Image Guided Surgery (MCIGS). MCIGS contributes in flexible, portable and accurate alignment of pre-operative brain data with intra-operative MRI, for image guided diagnosis and therapy and endoscopic skull base surgery. Improved precision of image guided therapy and specifically neurosurgery procedures is known to result in the improved prognosis for brain tumor patients. MCI GS system is tested with Physics Based Non-Rigid Registration method form ITK. Our preliminary results for brain images indicate that the proposed system over Wi-Fi can be …

Creating Greater Synergy Between Hci Academia And Practice, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Dennis Galletta, Melinda Knight, James R. Lewis, John Pruitt, Gavriel Salvendy, Hong Sheng, Anna Wichansky

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper presents perspectives from both academia and practice on how both groups can collaborate and work together to create synergy in the development and advancement of human-computer interaction (HCI). Issues and challenges are highlighted, success cases are offered as examples, and suggestions are provided to further such collaborations.

Survivable Cloud Network Mapping For Disaster Recovery Support, Feng Gu, Khaled B. Shaban, Nasir Ghani, Samee Khan, Mahshid R. Naeini, Majeed M. Hayat, Chadi Assi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Network virtualization is a key provision for improving the scalability and reliability of cloud computing services. In recent years, various mapping schemes have been developed to reserve VN resources over substrate networks. However, many cloud providers are very concerned about improving service reliability under catastrophic disaster conditions yielding multiple system failures. To address this challenge, this work presents a novel failure region-disjoint VN mapping scheme to improve VN mapping survivability. The problem is first formulated as a mixed integer linear programming problem and then two heuristic solutions are proposed to compute a pair of failure region-disjoint VN mappings. The solution …

Characterization Of An E2v Charge-Coupled Device For The Michelson Interferometer For Global High-Resolution Thermospheric Imaging Instrument, James Beukers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis presents the characterization process of an imaging device for a satellite. The camera system was built by the Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) and will be used in the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument for National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ionospheric Con- nection Explorer (ICON) satellite. This mission will further scientists' understanding of the connection between the Earth's weather and ionospheric conditions. The ionosphere, a part of the atmosphere, interferes with satellite communications, causing disturbances and disruptions. By learning more about the ionosphere through the data collected by this instrument, scientists will better understand …

Attacker-Induced Traffic Flow Instability In A Stream Of Automated Vehicles, Daniel D. Dunn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Highway systems world wide continue to see an ever increased number of vehicles and subsequently a rise in congested traffic. This results in longer commute times, wasted energy as vehicles idle in stop and go traffic, and increases the risk of accidents. In short, increased congestion costs time and money. These issues have prompted much research into Automated Highway Systems (AHS). In AHS vehicles using computer algorithms can safely travel at much smaller inter-vehicle distances than human drivers are capable of. This increases the capacity of existing highway systems. Sensors aboard each vehicle make this possible by monitoring their surroundings. …

A Gis-Based Expert Systems Predictive Habitat Model For Threatened And Endangered Species: Case Study Using Kentucky Arrow Darter, Benjamin L. Blandford, Michael Shouse, John Ripy

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This study presents a GIS-based predictive habitat suitability model for the Kentucky arrow darter (Etheostoma spilotum), a fish species of the upper Kentucky River basin that is a candidate for federal listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The model is based on previous work: the development of a similar predictive model for identifying the habitat of the blackside dace, a threatened minnow species of the upper Cumberland River basin in Southeastern Kentucky. The research describes a weighted, rules-based system which incorporates expert knowledge about habitat preferences for the arrow darter. For this model, five habitat factors …

Automatic Detection And Denoising Of Signals In Large Geophysical Datasets, Gabriel O. Trisca

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

To fully understand the complex interactions of various phenomena in the natural world, scientific disciplines such as geology and seismology increasingly rely upon analyzing large amounts of observations. However, data collection is growing at a faster rate than what is currently possible to analyze through traditional approaches. These datasets, supplied by the increasing use of sensors and remote sensing, require specialized computer programs to effectively analyze complex and expansive volumes of data.

Elaborating on existing geophysical data processing approaches for infrasound data collected from an avalanche-prone area, this project proposes new techniques for processing large geophysical datasets. These improved techniques …

A Stratified Turbulence Formulation And A Turbulent Inflow Boundary Condition For Large-Eddy Simulation Of Complex Terrain Winds, Clancy Umphrey

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

There has been an increased interest to forecast winds over complex terrain under realistic stability conditions using spatial resolutions that are much finer than the current practice. This goal is realizable thanks to the computational power of graphics processing units (GPUs). This thesis investigates an immersed boundary (IB) formulation and a turbulent inflow boundary condition within a multi-GPU parallel incompressible wind solver. Katabatic flows over a sloped complex terrain surface under stable stratification remain to be one of the least understood subjects in atmospheric turbulence. Prandtl’s analytical solution for laminar katabatic flow is used to develop an IB formulation to …

Flexible Thermoelectric Generators For Biomedical Applications, Ryan Stevenson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The market for implantable medical devices is growing rapidly. Research and Markets predicts that by the end of 2015 the market for pacemakers will be 5.1 billion dollars, and a projected growth of 13.82% between 2013 and 2018. The average lifespan of an implantable medical device’s battery is only 5 years, while the projected lifespan of the device itself is 10 years. There is an excess of invasive surgeries occurring to replace these batteries, costing the healthcare system millions of dollars and also causing patients a large degree of discomfort and pain.

Thermoelectric generators have the potential to supplement and …

A Numerical Investigation Of A Solidification Model For Snow Micro-Structure Metamorphosis, Micah Johnson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the way snow changes during environmental events has wide spread benefits ranging from avalanche prediction to water conservation. Snow on a micro-structural level constantly changes from the moment it forms. Snow metamorphosis is driven by the transport of water vapor. Thus far it has only been investigated as a pure diffusion process in dry snow, despite observations that suggest that natural convection may have a role in the heat and mass transport in snow packs. This thesis research numerically explores the role of transport processes in the context of snow metamorphism. An existing solidification model is reformulated to simulate …

Biomimetic Application Of Ion-Conducting-Based Memristive Devices In Spike-Timing-Dependent-Plasticity, Kolton T. Drake

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The design and synthesis of artificial learning systems has been aided by the study of biological learning systems. Classic biological learning is driven by the strengthening and weakening of the synapses that connect neurons within the brain through a phenomenon known as Spike-Timing-Dependent-Plasticity. That is, synaptic connectivity between neurons is modulated by the relative timing of their spiking outputs. Similarly, neuromorphic computing architectures can implement a mesh of artificial neurons interconnected by a network of artificial synapses to mimic the learning behaviors found in nature.

Memristors, two-terminal devices whose resistance can be programmed as a function of voltage and current, …

A Method For Using Pre-Computed Scenarios Of Physically-Based Spatially-Distributed Hydrologic Models In Flood Forecasting Systems, Herman Guillermo Dolder

Theses and Dissertations

Every year floods are responsible of a significant number of human losses, many of which could be avoided with a broader implementation of flood forecasting systems. Nevertheless, there are still some technological and economic limitations that impede the creation of these systems in many parts of the world. At the core of many flood forecasting systems is a hydrologic model that transforms the weather forecast into a flow forecast. Using real-time modeling for potential floods poses a series of problems: if the model is complex, the computational power required can be significant, and consequently expensive, and if the model is …

Jet And Droplet Impingement On Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Jonathan Glenn Stoddard

Theses and Dissertations

The effect of superhydrophobicity on liquid water impingement on a flat horizontal surface was explored. The surfaces combined a hydrophobic surface chemistry with a patterned microstucture in order to produce high contact angles with water. Three sets of experiments were performed, one for jet impingement and two for droplet impingement, which advance previous work in characterizing the interaction of water and superhydrophobic surfaces.Jet impingement experiments were performed to characterize a transitional regime between an unsubmerged and a completely submerged superhydrophobic surface by varying an imposed downstream depth. For low downstream depths, the surface remained unsubmerged and displayed only break up …

General Application Of Smart Inverters In Distribution And Smart Grid, Wenxin Peng

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The electric grid of the near future will face challenges and opportunities based on two aspects. First, the rapid growth of renewable generations expedites the upgrading of traditional electric grids, allowing more and more distributed generation connected at the customers’ side. Distributed generation units use a wide range of generation technologies, including gas turbines, diesel engines, solar photovoltaics (PV), wind turbines, fuel cells, biomass, and small hydroelectric generators. Under certain penetration level, the grid will experience issues like unexpected voltage rise as well as reverse power flows due to the fluctuation of power production of the distributed generation, especially when …

Degradation Science: Mesoscopic Evolution And Temporal Analytics Of Photovoltaic Energy Materials, Roger H. French, Rudolf Podgornik, Timothy J. Peshek, Laura S. Bruckman, Yifan Xu, Nicholas R. Wheeler, Abdulkerim Gok, Yang Hu, Mohammad A. Hossain, Devin A. Gordon, Pei Zhao, Jiayang Sun, Guo-Qiang Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Based on recent advances in nanoscience, data science and the availability of massive real-world datastreams, the mesoscopic evolution of mesoscopic energy materials can now be more fully studied. The temporal evolution is vastly complex in time and length scales and is fundamentally challenging to scientific understanding of degradation mechanisms and pathways responsible for energy materials evolution over lifetime. We propose a paradigm shift towards mesoscopic evolution modeling, based on physical and statistical models, that would integrate laboratory studies and real-world massive datastreams into a stress/mechanism/response framework with predictive capabilities. These epidemiological studies encompass the variability in properties that affect performance …

Synthesis Of Renewable Aromatic Chemicals And Fuels From Biomass Derived Lignin Model Compounds, Bethany Carter

All Dissertations

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most viable choice for producing high-value chemicals, materials, liquid transportation fuels, and energy from a renewable source. Lignin, in particular, is of interest because it serves as the only significant source of renewable aromatic carbon. Commercially, the Kraft pulping process is the predominant method for separating lignin and hemicellulose (collectively called black liquor) from the cellulose fraction of woody biomass. To enable the production of low molecular weight compounds such phenols and aromatic acids, high-purity, low-ash lignin must first be extracted from the black liquor. This separation is achieved using the Sequential Liquid- Lignin Recovery Process, …

Novel Stretchable Printed Wearable Sensor For Monitoring Body Movement, Temperature And Electrocardiogram, Along With The Readout Circuit, Ali Eshkeiti

Dissertations

Conformal and stretchable wearable sensors provide vital real time information about individual’s health conditions. In this work, Traditional printing methods are used for fabrication of stretchable and wearable sensors which can be mounted on the human skin for the purpose of health tracking. In addition, screen printing technology was utilized to develop printed and flexible electronic circuit board which can be used as a readout circuit along with fabricated wearable sensors. The dissertation is organized and pursued in three projects.

In the first project, screen printing was used to fabricate multi-layer PCBs using printed deposited materials on three distinct substrates. …